Springbok opens for lunch, dinner on July 21

After a soft opening (if packed houses to watch World Cup matches can be called soft), Springbok, the new restaurant and bar inspired by South African food and culture, will open for lunch and dinner service starting July 21.

The two-level downtown space at 711 Main at Capitol, is the work of Los Angeles transplants peter Walker and chef Seth Greenburg. Walker, a South African native, opened the original Springbok Pub and Grill in Los Angeles in 2003. With Springbok Houston he is expanding on his gastropub concept with a more upscale menu created by Greenburg.

Executive chef Greenburg has worked at L’Orangerie in Los Angeles, Cuisine Francaise in Chicago, the Dakota restaurant at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, and The Penthouse in Santa Monica, Calif. For Springbok he has created a menu that combines his classical training with flavors and traditions of South Africa. The menu includes Chicken Peri Peri; lamb sausage with farm egg, fries and harissa butter; oxtail with red curry and Yorkshire pudding; and lamb curry with mango chutney and a bread bowl.

The space features a bar and restaurant on the ground floor and an upstairs bar and lounge. Design details include chandeliers and mounted animal heads, including the springbok, a long-necked antelope native to southwestern Africa. Springbok also is the name of the nation rugby union.